Odd Socks
by They-Want-Me-To-Tap-Dance
Summary: Hermione notes that Harry is wearing two different socks today. Her casual question over his motivations leads to a deeper discussion during their regularly scheduled tea time. Rated T just in case. Triggery for anyone who knows why this story is about mismatched socks.


**_Hey guys. I want to thank all the people following and watching me for the support. Most of you are probably anticipating an update on "Growing". That will definitely come, especially now that my semester is over, but I am a bit stumped with it right now. I thought, for the sake of my readers, I'd give them a little something to enjoy in the mean time. This is as much for you all as me, so without further ado, I give you Odd Socks!_ **

Odd Socks © Anaubrey Shannon/ They-Want-Me-To-Tap-Dance

Harrry Potter © JK Rowling and Warner Brothers.

I don't own Harry Potter. I just obsessively read it over and over again until my imagination explodes with the writing below and beyond.

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Harry enjoyed his routine of having tea with Hermione every other Saturday. They would alternate which household the tea was served, but the time always fell anywhere from two o'clock or three o'clock on the same day. Ron scarcely joined them, as this was usually exclusively for the two of them, a time for Harry and Hermione to enjoy some time together outside their "Golden Trio". It was a special tradition to have cropped up, since out of the three of them, Harry and Ron never did anything of this sort on a regular basis. They didn't see the need to have a planned day together, as working in the same Ministry department several days a week dissipated any necessity, even after children confined them to at-home correspondence.

Saturday tea had happened by accident. Harry and Hermione would come visit the other at their respective houses to catch up, and it was uncharacteristic of Hermione to not notice their pattern, at least up until they had been meeting in this fashion for 3 months. Tea was a casual part of the get together, but after the accidental tradition manifested itself, they mutually agreed to always have a full tea service set spread out in the sitting room of either household.

Hermione always had a matching set, while Harry more often than not had to forage for the pieces in his cupboard, if they were even in there at all. It started out as an innocent case of disorganization on his part, but several years later, it only got worse having two rowdy sons in his household. Sometimes said mismatched pieces weren't in the kitchen at all as a result of his sons' shenanigans. Sometimes he would ask to use Ginny's tea service if he couldn't locate his own in time. It was one Saturday tea hosted by him, when he finally consulted Hermione about the ever present dilemma.

"Hermione, how have you been able to keep your tea set together all this time? I think I'm finally fed up with finding pieces of my set in strange places. Sometimes I go searching for them a day in advance when I'm due to host. I'm beginning to wonder if James is coercing Albus to hide the pieces. I found my teapot in the deepest drawer of my nightstand yesterday evening. Neither of them should even be able to get into that without magic!"

"Maybe James is using his magic voluntarily? I personally think accidental magic is mislabeled, since there are some children who have gained a semblance of control without wands before the age of 11. It's much like how children are linguistic geniuses in a certain age bracket. In this time period, they could possibly learn 3 or more languages at once. Maybe for magical children, they have voluntary access to premature wandless magic for a determined age bracket—"

"Hermione, you never fail to give encyclopedic information, but maybe this doesn't require creating a new theory for child development just now. James will be a mischievous little git with or without 'premature wandless magic.'"

"Mischievous offspring aside, I think our tea time would be boring without you having to hunt for your tea set. If you must know, I always keep my tea service in a drawer of my bookcase at my mum's house, with a magical seal. Every time you come over, I've Apparated over to fetch it."

"Isn't it a bit risky to Apparate with something that delicate?" Harry asked.

"You think I wouldn't take precautions first, Harry? It's not like I'm taking it through the Floo network! I've charmed the pieces to be unable to shatter. You could toss the tea pot like a Quaffle and it would be completely unscathed. My parents intended to give that set to me for my 18th birthday, but it ended up being a homecoming present after I returned their memories to them. Of course I would make sure I could safely transport it before carrying on!"

"Oh, forgive me. Brilliant as always, you are. Magic is so useful." Harry stated dryly. "Too bad any other places I could hide away my tea service, with or without magic, are abundant with children possibly even more destructive than James or Albus. I can only be happy that hiding my set is the only thing they have thought to do so far."

"Well, I think you have nearly everything for us to start." Hermione noted the teapot and cups with saucers, and the sugar bowl. "I think all that is missing is the creamer, the caddy, and the waste bowl—

Shall I be mother?" she added cheekily.

Harry snorted humorously at the last part of her statement. At the present time, Hermione was 5 months pregnant with her second child.

"Do what you like when I have everything. Unless gnomes or Cornish pixies are joining forces with my sons, I saw that my creamer and caddy are on the top shelf of this cupboard." he stated confidently.

Harry had to stretch his already substantial height to grope around on the top shelf, the ankles of his trousers riding up slightly to reveal a different sock on each foot. This struck Hermione as peculiar.

"Harry? Did you notice you've put on odd socks?"

"I noticed. It's deliberate. I didn't want to choose between two of my favorite pairs of socks this morning." He looked down and hastily shifted his trousers back over his ankles, but he didn't look back up for more than a minute. The expression Hermione saw on his face wasn't as casual as he was probably hoping for it to appear.

"I didn't take you for someone who chooses their footwear so carefully. When did this pop up?" she asked, probing further.

Looking up, Harry directed his response not at Hermione's face, but angled near her right shoulder.

"Well, Dobby used to think it was a normal habit to wear odd socks. I remember the look on his face when I told him that most people wear matching socks. It was priceless."

His breath caught slightly as he remembered that day. Dobby had bought wool from his wages to make him socks that Christmas.

"Oh Harry. I didn't realize until now. It's Dobby's anniversary today, isn't it?" she asked Harry delicately.

"It's interesting that it would land on the same day as our tea this year, wouldn't you say? It's amazing that something as simple as socks can turn into a tradition. I've worn odd socks on his anniversary every year." he laughed shakily at how ridiculous the statement probably sounded without the somber context.

"I guess the best part about the start of a tradition can also be the worst." Hermione stated quietly, and rubbing her swollen belly, added: "I think all we need is to have my baby arrive on one of these days."

It only figured that months after Hermione said this as a passing joke, it came to be the truth. Hermione decided that it only made sense to adopt two occasions for wearing odd socks herself: in honor of Dobby on his anniversary and every year on the birthday of her beautiful son, Hugo Weasley.


End file.
